【New Era】Media Artist Yoichi Ochiai, Triple Collaboration Items with Kyoto's Oldest Cotton Fabric Merchant Eirakuya to be Released on May 13 (Wednesday)
Sports and lifestyle global brand New Era will release caps and T-shirts resulting from a triple collaboration with media artist Yoichi Ochiai and Eirakuya, Kyoto's oldest cotton fabric merchant. These limited-edition items, featuring Ochiai's artwork "Counterfactual of Computational Nature: Transformation of null" Fluid, will go on sale on May 13.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 7, 2026 at 21:00
- 🔍 Collected: May 7, 2026 at 12:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 7, 2026 at 13:29 (57 min after Collected)
New Era, a global sports and lifestyle brand, will release caps and T-shirts on May 13 (Wednesday) that are the result of a triple collaboration with media artist Yoichi Ochiai and Eirakuya, Kyoto's oldest cotton fabric merchant, originally founded to manufacture and sell tenugui and furoshiki. These items will be available at New Era Shinjuku South, Ginza, Shibuya, Yokohama, Chiba, Shinsaibashi, Kobe, and the official online store.
The collaboration between the two parties began with a special exhibition by Mr. Ochiai held in 2024 at the "Hosotsuji Ihee Museum" operated by Eirakuya, as part of the "Nuit Blanche KYOTO" program, inspired by Paris's Nuit Blanche and held every autumn. This exhibition led to a collaboration with the 14th generation head of Eirakuya, Ihee Hosotsuji, and Eirakuya has since continued to develop tenugui incorporating Mr. Ochiai's art pieces.
This collaboration will feature caps and T-shirts that utilize tenugui with Mr. Ochiai's artwork, "Counterfactual of Computational Nature: Transformation of null" Fluid, incorporated into their design.
■ About "Counterfactual of Computational Nature: Transformation of null" Fluid
This artwork explores the concept of "null" (nothingness), depicting visuals that materialize and fluidly transform. Through the changing appearance of something non-existent taking form and continuously transforming as a fluid, it investigates the boundaries between existence and non-existence in computational nature, presenting a new ontology and aesthetic through digital technology.
【Lineup】 *All prices include tax
[59FIFTY®] 11,000 yen
Based on New Era's iconic 59FIFTY® model, the entire cap uses tenugui fabric. This is a luxurious cap, with only one piece produced from a single tenugui.
Right Side
[T-shirt] 7,700 yen
Based on an oversized short-sleeved T-shirt, tenugui fabric is boldly arranged on the back.
Front Back
*Due to fabric cutting, the pattern of the actual product may differ from the image.
【Collection List (New Era Official Online Store)】
https://www.neweracap.jp/collections/yoichi-ochiai-x-eirakuya
【Yoichi Ochiai Profile】
Media artist. Born in 1987, began his artistic career around 2010. His works explore themes such as materialization and transformation in boundary regions, and an yearning for mass. He is a professor at the University of Tsukuba and a theme project producer for the 2025 Japan International Exposition (Osaka-Kansai Expo). Recent exhibitions include "Kitakyushu Future Creation Art Festival ART for SDGs (Kitakyushu, 2021)", "Ars Electronica (Austria, 2021)", "Hare Tokidoki Leica (Leica Gallery Tokyo, Kyoto, 2023)", "Nullan: Noise is Silence∽Silence is Noise (Gallery & Restaurant Butaiura, 2024)" and many others. He also collaborates across various fields, such as directing the "Yoichi Ochiai x Japan Philharmonic Project."
【About Eirakuya】
A cotton fabric merchant in Kyoto founded in the early Edo period (1615). Before its founding, it served as a purveyor of kimonos for Oda Nobunaga and was granted the trade name 'Eirakuya' and the family name Hosotsuji. Later, in the first year of Genna (1615) in the early Edo period, it transitioned from selling silk kimonos (gofuku) to thick cotton fabrics (futomono) and expanded its business. The tenugui business, which involved cutting kimono fabric as needed, expanded significantly. Today, Eirakuya continues its business for over 400 years as the oldest cotton fabric merchant in Kyoto, spanning fourteen generations, dealing in tenugui, furoshiki, and more.
Keywords:
The collaboration between the two parties began with a special exhibition by Mr. Ochiai held in 2024 at the "Hosotsuji Ihee Museum" operated by Eirakuya, as part of the "Nuit Blanche KYOTO" program, inspired by Paris's Nuit Blanche and held every autumn. This exhibition led to a collaboration with the 14th generation head of Eirakuya, Ihee Hosotsuji, and Eirakuya has since continued to develop tenugui incorporating Mr. Ochiai's art pieces.
This collaboration will feature caps and T-shirts that utilize tenugui with Mr. Ochiai's artwork, "Counterfactual of Computational Nature: Transformation of null" Fluid, incorporated into their design.
■ About "Counterfactual of Computational Nature: Transformation of null" Fluid
This artwork explores the concept of "null" (nothingness), depicting visuals that materialize and fluidly transform. Through the changing appearance of something non-existent taking form and continuously transforming as a fluid, it investigates the boundaries between existence and non-existence in computational nature, presenting a new ontology and aesthetic through digital technology.
【Lineup】 *All prices include tax
[59FIFTY®] 11,000 yen
Based on New Era's iconic 59FIFTY® model, the entire cap uses tenugui fabric. This is a luxurious cap, with only one piece produced from a single tenugui.
Right Side
[T-shirt] 7,700 yen
Based on an oversized short-sleeved T-shirt, tenugui fabric is boldly arranged on the back.
Front Back
*Due to fabric cutting, the pattern of the actual product may differ from the image.
【Collection List (New Era Official Online Store)】
https://www.neweracap.jp/collections/yoichi-ochiai-x-eirakuya
【Yoichi Ochiai Profile】
Media artist. Born in 1987, began his artistic career around 2010. His works explore themes such as materialization and transformation in boundary regions, and an yearning for mass. He is a professor at the University of Tsukuba and a theme project producer for the 2025 Japan International Exposition (Osaka-Kansai Expo). Recent exhibitions include "Kitakyushu Future Creation Art Festival ART for SDGs (Kitakyushu, 2021)", "Ars Electronica (Austria, 2021)", "Hare Tokidoki Leica (Leica Gallery Tokyo, Kyoto, 2023)", "Nullan: Noise is Silence∽Silence is Noise (Gallery & Restaurant Butaiura, 2024)" and many others. He also collaborates across various fields, such as directing the "Yoichi Ochiai x Japan Philharmonic Project."
【About Eirakuya】
A cotton fabric merchant in Kyoto founded in the early Edo period (1615). Before its founding, it served as a purveyor of kimonos for Oda Nobunaga and was granted the trade name 'Eirakuya' and the family name Hosotsuji. Later, in the first year of Genna (1615) in the early Edo period, it transitioned from selling silk kimonos (gofuku) to thick cotton fabrics (futomono) and expanded its business. The tenugui business, which involved cutting kimono fabric as needed, expanded significantly. Today, Eirakuya continues its business for over 400 years as the oldest cotton fabric merchant in Kyoto, spanning fourteen generations, dealing in tenugui, furoshiki, and more.
Keywords: